I have a 2007 Dutch Star with what seems to be an age old problem. My largest slide-out collects water and sags everytime it rains. The smaller covers do fine. I have tried the Airwedge, which is an inflatible air bag that goes between the slide-out roof and cover. But it is too fat to push between the roof and cover. Or if I deflate it until it fits, it's too flimsey to be pushed more than a couple of feet and the slide-out is 13 feet long. I also tried making a PVC "pipe on stilts" contraption I saw at an RV internet site figuring that it would push up the middle and the water would roll off. But the water collected on the cover both between the coach and the pipe and the pipe and the end of the cover. I have also looked at the cover literature to see if it can be tightened so it won't sag. But nothing was said about how to tighten it. I've looked at other motorhomes and most seems to do the same thing. Any suggestions here?
blackoak99 said
05:51 PM Jul 16, 2007
This is interesting because I was talking to a guy last night, and he had slid a piece of PVC fencing rail between the awning and the slide-out. It was just tall enough to make a tent sort of, and shed off all the water.
bjoyce said
06:58 PM Jul 16, 2007
Tightening requires two people with muscles and the know how to do it right. Those springs are strong. A friend has a multi-piece PVC pipe tent that he uses that lifts the middle of the slideout full length. He puts it in in pieces and takes it out the same way. He made it himself. He has a 2002 Dutch Star.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 19:58, 2007-07-16
Blitz said
08:03 PM Jul 16, 2007
My explanation of what I have tried already wasn't clear, I guess. The "PVC pipe on stilts" was like the "tent" you have suggested. All it did was cause 2 puddles, one on each side of the peak of the tent. I may not have had the tent peak tall enough. I will try to raise the tent height and see what happens next time it rains.
Thanks for the suggestions and I'll let you know what happens next time it rains.
flyone said
11:57 AM Jul 17, 2007
I would think one could make a PVC wedge with enough cross braces to keep from puddleing. Try spacing a cross brace either vertical or hortizontal about 1 foot apart, 18 inches at the most. This would be quite an assembly, some of it could be glued together and some of it just slip into place as you where installing it.
Flyone
ahoweth said
06:30 AM Jul 22, 2007
Hi!
I had the same problem on our American Tradition and was able to solve the problem. My awning was a Carfree canvas awning and was 18 feet long. You haven't said whether your slide out cover is vinyl or canvas but I'll bet it is a canvas material. If it is, these canvas materials can lose a little of their ability to shed water just like the old tarpolin tents did. The loss of repellant ability causes the water to soak into the cloth making the cloth itself heavier. The heavy cloth sags of its own weight temperarily bending the awning roller tube in at the center creating the pools or making them worse. The repellant abitlity of the canvas can be restored quite easily with a can of Scotch Guard water repellant or other suitable spray. There are several commercially available. One should clean the canvas first with soap and water to remove any residual dirt. A dirty canvas will hold water too. Once the canvas is clean, spray it heavily with the repellant spray. Of course you must have a dry canvas to apply the repellant spray and several coats won't hurt a thing. This won't stop the awning from pooling if it mounted too flat or is too lose but it will help repel the water if the PVC pipe ridge is used.
An alternative might be to look at raising the awning rail which attaches the awning to the body of the coach. This would give the awning move slope aiding in water drainage. That may not be possible on you coach but it is an idea that you could check on. I wouldn't remove the old rail though. I would add a new one above the old one. Removing the old rail and moving it might create some leaks. Good luck.
Blitz said
04:02 PM Aug 20, 2007
Thanks everyone for your comments.
What I did was to make my PVC "tent" a little higher and it worked like a charm. I took 3/4" PVC pipe and put in a verticle support every 3' for the length of the 12' slide - actually I have 2, 6'sections. I then wrapped each 3' section with insulating material to cushion the pipe against the vinyl cover. This took the slack out of the cover and the rain water now just rolls off with no puddling. Total cost for all the material was under $15. I can place the tent poles under the slide cover from the roof, so I don't have to get my ladder out. I just go up the rig's ladder mounted on the rear. It takes only a couple of minutes and the pieces can be disasembled for easy storage.
Hope this helps anyone else with a similar problem.
LakeConroePenny said
05:48 PM Aug 20, 2007
I used to blow up balloons, and put them under mine, the sausage shaped ones, and keep the strings long, so that I could retrieve them. Penny, TX
I have a slideout topper that collects water as well. My question is will it hurt anything? Thanks
Barbaraok said
08:46 PM Sep 29, 2015
Not really hurts anything except if someone is standing close to the slide when you bring it in and they receive a cascade of water. Ours looks full, I just pull the slide in and let it dump then put the slide back out.
Barb
Meterman said
09:10 PM Sep 29, 2015
Thanks Barb. I've done the same. Wasn't sure if the weight of the water would hurt the slideout when you let it in or not.
Howard said
07:00 AM Sep 30, 2015
Pooling water on the slideout toppers will stretch the fabric, especially on larger slideouts. The stretched fabric will then tend to billow and flap more in windy conditions.
Also, pooling water over time can stretch the seams on the fabric or the stress points and cause premature tearing. Water that leaks through and then settles on the top of the slideout could leak into the rig depending on the condition of slideout seals, the condition of the seams on the top of the slideout, and how level you are when parked.
I'm not suggesting that you remove the water after every rain, but water that pools for too long can have an effect on the life of the toppers.
Diana and Jim said
07:12 AM Sep 30, 2015
One thing I've noticed on some rigs is a roller support on the longer covers. Ours doesn't have one, and there seems to be a fair amount of deflection in the roller tube. Would that be a worthwhile investment?
bjoyce said
09:20 AM Sep 30, 2015
Diana and Jim wrote:
One thing I've noticed on some rigs is a roller support on the longer covers. Ours doesn't have one, and there seems to be a fair amount of deflection in the roller tube. Would that be a worthwhile investment?
Yes, since we recently had our slide topper fail because of it. The tube sagged enough to hang up when the slide was brought in. We have been going without a topper since, but are getting a new one installed next week. My knees are not up to getting on the roof to check for branches, etc., every time we move.
laurly said
06:01 AM Oct 2, 2015
My DH gets up onto the roof after a rain and sweeps the slide toppers off. We had the PVC contraption as well, but if we needed to pull the slides in due to a bad storm, it made it a pain.
A friend has a multi-piece PVC pipe tent that he uses that lifts the middle of the slideout full length. He puts it in in pieces and takes it out the same way. He made it himself. He has a 2002 Dutch Star.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 19:58, 2007-07-16
I would think one could make a PVC wedge with enough cross braces to keep from puddleing. Try spacing a cross brace either vertical or hortizontal about 1 foot apart, 18 inches at the most. This would be quite an assembly, some of it could be glued together and some of it just slip into place as you where installing it.
Flyone
I had the same problem on our American Tradition and was able to solve the problem. My awning was a Carfree canvas awning and was 18 feet long. You haven't said whether your slide out cover is vinyl or canvas but I'll bet it is a canvas material. If it is, these canvas materials can lose a little of their ability to shed water just like the old tarpolin tents did. The loss of repellant ability causes the water to soak into the cloth making the cloth itself heavier. The heavy cloth sags of its own weight temperarily bending the awning roller tube in at the center creating the pools or making them worse. The repellant abitlity of the canvas can be restored quite easily with a can of Scotch Guard water repellant or other suitable spray. There are several commercially available. One should clean the canvas first with soap and water to remove any residual dirt. A dirty canvas will hold water too. Once the canvas is clean, spray it heavily with the repellant spray. Of course you must have a dry canvas to apply the repellant spray and several coats won't hurt a thing. This won't stop the awning from pooling if it mounted too flat or is too lose but it will help repel the water if the PVC pipe ridge is used.
An alternative might be to look at raising the awning rail which attaches the awning to the body of the coach. This would give the awning move slope aiding in water drainage. That may not be possible on you coach but it is an idea that you could check on. I wouldn't remove the old rail though. I would add a new one above the old one. Removing the old rail and moving it might create some leaks. Good luck.
What I did was to make my PVC "tent" a little higher and it worked like a charm. I took 3/4" PVC pipe and put in a verticle support every 3' for the length of the 12' slide - actually I have 2, 6'sections. I then wrapped each 3' section with insulating material to cushion the pipe against the vinyl cover. This took the slack out of the cover and the rain water now just rolls off with no puddling. Total cost for all the material was under $15. I can place the tent poles under the slide cover from the roof, so I don't have to get my ladder out. I just go up the rig's ladder mounted on the rear. It takes only a couple of minutes and the pieces can be disasembled for easy storage.
Hope this helps anyone else with a similar problem.
www.awningairwedge.com
about $40
Barb
Thanks Barb. I've done the same. Wasn't sure if the weight of the water would hurt the slideout when you let it in or not.
Pooling water on the slideout toppers will stretch the fabric, especially on larger slideouts. The stretched fabric will then tend to billow and flap more in windy conditions.
Also, pooling water over time can stretch the seams on the fabric or the stress points and cause premature tearing. Water that leaks through and then settles on the top of the slideout could leak into the rig depending on the condition of slideout seals, the condition of the seams on the top of the slideout, and how level you are when parked.
I'm not suggesting that you remove the water after every rain, but water that pools for too long can have an effect on the life of the toppers.
Yes, since we recently had our slide topper fail because of it. The tube sagged enough to hang up when the slide was brought in. We have been going without a topper since, but are getting a new one installed next week. My knees are not up to getting on the roof to check for branches, etc., every time we move.